Could the credit crunch hurt Seattle startups?

VentureBeat and TechCrunch are both reporting that some Silicon Valley startups are facing cash issues because some of their capital is tied up in auction rate securities, a financial vehicle that companies sometimes use to receive a higher return than money markets.

Last month, The New York Times pointed to concerns in the market for auction rate securities, noting that the market is essentially frozen as many of the auctions used to set interest rates have failed. That means some companies can’t access cash — the life blood of many startups.

A Seattle attorney I spoke with last week said he was concerned about how the failure of these auctions might impact startups. But I haven’t heard much else.

I am wondering if any Seattle startups or VCs are experiencing problems related to this?